One more for the alley

I noticed something new in aerial shots that Discover Jasper County posted on Facebook so I took a closer look. There is a new mural on the eMbers building.

Moosy is the signature of Trent Musch. I will have to update my Art Walk pages.

On Monday work continued on US 231 as the side street approaches to the highway were paved.

The Webster Street crossing of the railroad is closed. The railroad is doing something with the switch tracks.

Work continues on a new house in Blacker Village. It is sponsored by the Fuller Center for Housing.

A bit to the north the new storage building now has a back wall but still no roof (at least when the picture was taken last week).

Several churches are changing or have recently changed pastors. Included are the United Methodists, First Presbyterians, the Bridge, and Saint Augustine. The change at Saint Augustine marks the end of an era. Since 1888 priests from the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, the order that sponsored Saint Joseph's College, have served the parish. No longer. The new pastor is a diocesan priest. Moreover, he will not just be the pastor of Saint Augustine's but also the Catholic parishes in Remington and Goodland. Until this spring the parishioners of Saint Augustine have had the luxury of three Masses on the weekends. Now they will have only one, on Sunday. The new pastor is currently living in the rectory in Remington's Sacred Heart parish.

On Monday afternoon the Rensselaer Redevelopment Commission resumed its meeting from the previous Monday. Last week they had concerns and questions about the contract with the engineering firm that was needed for a grant application. These questions were answered. The City will own the work of the engineering firm when it is finished but not when it is only partially finished. The amounts listed in the contract as payments for engineering services are caps. With those issues resolved, the Commission approved signing the contract and KIRPC will submit the grant proposal. If approved, it will help fund stage one of downtown redevelopment, which will include re-bricking the two blocks of brick streets by the Court House.

On Monday evening both the Jasper County BZA and Plan Commission met via Zoom. The case in front of the BZA consisted of a special exception for a cell tower and two variances for the tower, one for height and the other for type. The proposed tower will be constructed on a forty acre track on the southwest corner of the SR 110 and US 231 intersection in Walker Township. The tower and its support structure will occupy only a 100-foot by 100-foot area. The tower will be 285 feet tall with and extra five feet for a lightning rod. Verizon will occupy the top slot for its calls and will lease three co-locations to other cell carriers. Cell phone towers are tightly regulated by the FCC and the FAA and the FAA will require warning lights on the tower. The advantage of the tower is that it will increase capacity and coverage in the area. The special exception passed as well as the two variances. The tower will be a lattice tower and will not have guy wires. (See here for types of towers.)

The Plan Commission had a rezone request from Milroy Township. The property is currently A1 and the request was A2. The property in question is weirdly shaped with a lot of acreage but a small frontage and I think the rezone was needed to allow a dwelling to built on it. It passed and will move on to the Commissioners.